Section 6: Workflow
Are brands adopting efficient workflows for SEO project implementation?
Our takeaway
"More than half of teams face a bumpy road to implementation, even though a lot of SEOs are using the right documentation to support their tickets. What it really comes down to is how SEOs communicate and advocate at the bookends of the product lifecycle. When SEOs are able to attend milestone meetings, narrow the scope of their backlogs, communicate their larger strategies, and close the loop on performance, many of the ‘bumps’ smooth themselves out in advance of the in-ticket back-and-forth."
Sam Torres • Chief Digital Officer
Question 1
Which documents are generally created at your brand in support of SEO initiatives?
Excellent to see how many SEO projects are supported by a business case, besides the usual tech requirements, as well as with industry examples and mockups. These are definitely elements that facilitate execution.
Aleyda Solís · Founder & International SEO Consultant — Orainti
Seeing how teams are developing their SEO workflows gives me a lot of hope for the direction this field is heading. When there are business cases, clear technical requirements, and actual project timelines supporting SEO, it shows that we are moving beyond the old days of one-off requests and begging for resources. We're approaching this work with the seriousness it deserves. I'm excited about what’s next.
Glen McMurry · Director, SEO — Upwork
Question 2
How efficiently do SEO tickets or projects move through the development process?
- NA, there are no SEO tickets
- Bumpy: Tickets often get pushed out of the sprint or converted to spike tickets due to back-and-forth with Engineering to identify the best solution
- Few snags: Tickets often require additional conversations and less-than-ideal solutions, often resulting in follow-up tickets in the backlog
- Light handholding: Tickets are well-groomed and usually move through the process efficiently, but require knowledge and support from SEO to define and test the solution
- Seamless: The team consistently identifies the ideal solution, implements it efficiently, and finds any issues in testing
At Whitepages, we’re big fans of the Automation for Jira Slack app. It’s sped up our dev cycle in the best way. When a ticket’s Jira status changes to 'ready for refinement,' the app pings the right Slack channel, triggering the Eeny app to tag the right product team for quick and easy refinement.
Renee Girard · Director of SEO — Whitepages
This might be biased due to the audience you're reaching (who already have some understanding of Product Management), but it's great to see more SEOs learning how to communicate with cross-functional teams using tickets. Follow-up tickets are fine — you learn things when one task is worked on. Some knowledge transfer means the engineers executing the ticket actually care about the ticket as well.
Gus Pelogia · Senior SEO Product Manager — Indeed
Over 50% of respondents need to go back and forth, and I think this presents a good opportunity to learn from each other more on this topic. As SEO often requires relying on other teams, its success also hinges on being able to ship things.
Debbie Chew · SEO Manager — Stripe
Question 3
Are roadmap projects delivered on time according to the timeline proposed originally?
The data indicates strong documentation practices supporting SEO projects, which is a positive foundation. However, the development workflow remains a pain point, with most teams encountering communication hurdles and needing ongoing SEO team involvement to navigate solutions effectively. Improving collaboration and streamlining the handoff between SEO and engineering could enhance project flow and potentially increase the percentage of projects delivered exactly on time.
Mihir Naik · Senior Product Manager, SEO — Loblaws
